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i live in Houston TX and as some may know it is hot and humid this time of year. i have ben running a few epoxy batches with slow hardener in my work shop to see what combination/ mixture would work best. the temp stays around 85 to 90 degrees at about 45% humidity and this is with the ac on during the hotest time of the day. The batches have all been mixed 2 to 1 ratio with the mixing pump.
Not a single batch has hardened. the longest one i have been waiting on is the first one and it has ben 7 days. So when they say slow, just how slow do they really mean. I just tried another small batch and mixed it 2 to 2 to see what happens. any sugestions?
I also ordered medium hardener and will try that one next. I want to get this working without a hitch before i get a boat.
Kirk
4 replies:
RE: mas slow hardener
CLC says to alternate pumps from epoxy to hardener: Pump from one and finish from the other, over and over untill you get enough. **** The other thing I found was the epoxy pump is slow to recover to the top of the pump so be sure the top of pump is all the way up (which controls a "full squirt",,, if you don't, the ratio is not right. I've done a zillion batches for my Peeler build and have never had a problem with the mix setting. It typically starts to kick after 45 minutes or so depending on the diameter of the mixing vessel. Bigger creates less heat and longer working time and totally after 4-6 hours with the slow hardener. Good luck, Ken.
RE: mas slow hardener
And also,,, besure to stir well. Alternate from clockwise to cc clockwise, lift the center and scrape the sides of your mixing vessel,, it all contributes.
RE: mas slow hardener
At your ambient temps, you should be able to sand the cured epoxy in 16 hours with the slow epoxy. Something is definitely awry. 98% of the time it's the ratio.
Check the pumps, of course. One pump of resin should dispense twice as much resin as one pump of hardener, yielding the proper ratio of two parts resin to one part hardener. (We get quite a lot of folks mixing two pumps of resin to one pump of hardener, yielding a 4:1 mixture that never cures. It's an easy mistake to make.)
Meanwhile, put your hull assembly out in the sun and cook it for a day or two. The heat will help fire off the epoxy on your boat, as will additional overcoats of properly activated epoxy.
RE: mas slow hardener
» Submitted by Mark N - Sat, 6/7/14 » 6:25 PM
I suspect that your ratio is somehow messed up. Make sure the pump with the blue dot on top is in the blue jug (resin) and the pump with the red dot is in the red jug (hardener). One pump from each jug gives you the correct 2 to 1 ratio. Make sure that you take your time and thoroughly stir the mxture before trying to use it. If you are certain that everthing above is correct, maybe you have a bad pump.
I live in Jax Florida which has similar weather to Houston. This time of year a large batch (8+ onces) will start to kick in the cup in about 30 minutes. You have a bit more time if you get it spread out quickly but it will certainly set in a couple of hours.